1992 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit II

The Silver Spirit is the last Rolls Royce to use the company’s own V8 engine, with its successor, the Silver Seraph using a BMW unit. This car was first registered on 24th January 1992, and the current owner bought it in August 2019 with the intention of improving its condition.

1991 cars such as this one benefit from the traditional three speed unit automatic gearbox.

The current owner has spent a lot of time and money getting the car up to scratch but isn’t finding the time to cover many miles in it, so has reluctantly decided to let it go. He’s spent circa £13,000 on the car while in his ownership, so the new owner will get the benefit of his investments. He says:

‘Unfortunately, due to a change in circumstances, I just don’t have the time to devote to it. For example, I have only completed 168 miles between annual MoTs! The car is being wasted now, and needs to go to someone who can take over the baton, finish what I’ve started and actually make use of it.’

This Silver Spirit shines well and overall looks lovely, although it’s fair to say that the quality of the respray is not up to the original Rolls Royce factory standards. The original burgundy finish can still be seen in the door shuts. There are minor paint imperfections here and there – around the door handles and the boot lock for instance.

The nearside headlight has condensation in it and some of the door rubbers and seals are past their best. The rear screen has the remains of an old telephone aerial on it.

Overall the Rolls looks fine, and the paint deficiencies only really become apparent when you insect it closely. All the trim is present and correct, and the wheels are in good shape with decent tyres on them.

11/08: upon starting the car up for a viewing we have hosted, the aerial cable shot out. The inner cable has broken and kept traveling upwards luckily the housing rod is fine but we're not sure whether an inner cable would be needed to rectify, or indeed a complete system.

The interior of a Rolls never disappoints and this Silver Spirit is no exception. The cabin is swathed in highly polished wood, which the current owner has had refurbished, so it looks lovely.

Most of the interior trim is also in very nice shape, although the driver’s seat base has some cracks in the leather which detract from the overall look. In the boot there’s an aftermarket amplifier for the Alpine stereo system.

The owner has spent a lot of money getting the interior to this state, and the new custodian simply needs to deal with that driver’s seat base to finish the job.

The Rolls Royce 6.75-litre V8 is something of a motoring marvel, with a production span that lasted an incredible 61 years between 1959 and 2020. In Silver Spirit guise it has Bosch K-Jetronic mechanical fuel injection – a highly reliable system that provides both a power and economy increase over the original twin SU carburettors.

Bearing in mind that this engine, with the addition of forced induction, made in excess of 500bhp in later cars, by comparison the naturally aspirated version in this car has an easy time of things, and at this mileage has plenty of life left in it.

The engine bay is tidy and complete, with only minor surface tarnishing on some of the smaller parts to detract from the view. Peering under the large body we could see no signs of any serious corrosion, and the recent MoT test pass confirms this, although we always encourage any potential buyers to inspect the car themselves.

The owner says:

‘The car has just had a check over and all fluids done at Reading Independent Jags & Classics, and it now has 12 months MoT. It has service history between 1992 and 2009 – it goes sketchy for a decade then starts again with me in 2019. It has eight former keepers.

‘The Interior is a nice place to be, I had a lot of the wood restored and some work on the magnolia leather (the driver’s seat is a bit cracked, nothing awful), the headlining is great. Mechanically it can be enjoyed quite happily as it is. It starts first time, goes well, and is quiet and smooth. But it would suit ownership by an enthusiast who could get it back to A1.

‘As it is, it’s certainly not a concours car by any means, but it’s also a very long way from only being fit for spares or repairs! The bodywork is pretty sound, with some slight bubbling by a couple of the door handles and the boot lock. The most annoying feature of the car is that it should be burgundy and it was always my hope to get it back to that eventually.

‘Unfortunately, some previous owner has sprayed it red but left the door shuts in the original burgundy colour (this could be a good thing as it may make it easier and cheaper to get back to the correct colour). That said, as you can see in the pictures, if you’re not right next to it, it is able to look quite smart – even in red!

‘I was working my way through the car’s mechanicals at Rolls Royce specialists, and indeed spent an awful lot of money. There is still stuff to do, but it was getting there. But that was when I had time to organise things. I’ve only covered around 2000 miles since the car has been in my ownership.

‘I fitted new tyres all-round at the start of my tenure, so these all have great tread, and at the same time a lot of work was done to the braking system. Other work included lower ball joints, an ongoing nightmare with the “DIP unit” [a module which controls the dashboard instruments] which took a long time to diagnose. It eventually had to be replaced as it couldn’t be repaired.

‘It also had a new passenger seat ECU as it was stuck in one seat position. A new battery was fitted, and new rear speakers. I’ve made endless efforts to get the aircon working, and thought the fitting of a new AC condenser was the answer. Close but no cigar – I suspect it needs an AC compressor now, which would have been next on my list.

‘I had the petrol tank sender unit replaced, and even had the horns repaired! I’ve spent circa £13,000 to date. There is stuff still to do. There’s a slight oil leak from the rocker covers for instance, that’s why it’s a bit of a project for someone, but at the same time, the car can be enjoyed now, as it is.’

The Silver Spirit is a hand built Rolls Royce the likes of which will probably never be seen again (there were no large boxes full of BMW 7 Series parts at Crewe in 1992).

This is a solid example that needs some cosmetic improvements and some minor faults fixing to make it A1. But it can also be enjoyed as it is, so it would suit an enthusiast owner who can carry on the good work of the current one.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.